Page 70 of Saving it with My Best Friend's Brother

Wheeler’s wife stepped into chaos, an elegant suit incongruous against violence. And beside her...

“Hello, princess.” Her smile gleamed in the moonlight. “Time to talk about your mother.”

“Get them inside!” Agent Blake’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade as her team moved with military precision. Hunter tried to pull me up, but I couldn’t leave Michael. The ground bit cold through my knees, his blood warm against my hands.

“He’s breathing.” Taylor’s medical training steadied her voice despite trembling hands. “Pulse is steady. Through-and-through shoulder wound.” She pressed her jacket against the bleeding fabric, darkening instantly. “But he needs a hospital now.”

Sirens wailed against the mountain walls as FBI agents surrounded Wheeler’s wife. Her smile never wavered as if she held one last card.

“You think arrests matter now?” She nodded toward the tree line, where shadows shifted like secrets. “Look who else came to this brief reunion.”

A figure emerged from the darkness—tall, elegant, silver-haired. The face from Hunter’s childhood photos was barely touched by time.

“Mom?” Hunter’s voice cracked like river ice.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Katherine Miller’s eyes shone with tears in the emergency lights. “I tried to stop them, but—”

Another shot split the air. Katherine stumbled. Agent Blake caught her before she fell, red spreading across her sleeve like spilled wine.

“Enough!” Steel hardened Agent Blake’s voice. “Mrs. Wheeler, you’re under arrest for—”

“For what?” Rachel Wheeler’s laugh shattered like frozen branches. “Trying to protect my family? Like Margaret Horton tried to protect hers?” Her eyes found mine, sharp as the winter wind. “Like your mother died trying to protect you?”

“What are you talking about?” The words scraped from my throat as paramedics rushed to Michael, their uniforms stark against the darkness. Antiseptic cut through the metallic scent of blood.

“Ask your father about the inheritance.” Something wild danced in her eyes. “About why Crystal Ridge wanted Pine Haven. About what’s buried under the old ski slopes.”

“Don’t,” Katherine gasped as agents pressed bandages to her arm, crimson seeping through white gauze. “Rachel, please—”

Rachel Wheeler’s smile fell like a discarded mask. “Sorry, Kate. But they killed my brother that night, too. Time everyone knew the truth.”

Understanding hit with avalanche force. “Wheeler’s uncle... he was your brother?”

“The insurance investigator who tried to expose everything,” Hunter breathed against my hair, his hand warm on my shoulder. “The one who was going to testify...”

“The one your mother got killed,” Rachel spat, hatred raw in her voice.

“No.” Michael’s voice came weak but clear as paramedics lifted him. “That’s not... what happened. Mom tried... to save him. From...”

His eyes rolled back. They rushed him toward the waiting ambulance lights that painted everything in surreal red and blue.

“Michael!” I lurched forward, but Hunter held me as more shots exploded from the darkness like deadly fireworks.

“Inside, now!” Agent Blake’s team returned fire, sound bouncing off Pine Haven’s ancient walls.

Hunter carried me into the lobby as Taylor ran alongside Michael’s stretcher. Through the chaos, I glimpsed Rachel Wheeler in handcuffs, her perfect composure finally shattering, and Katherine Miller pressed between FBI agents, rushing her to safety.

In the lobby, Hunter pulled me close. His heartbeat thundered against my cheek, his familiar scent wrapping around me like a shield.

“He’ll be okay,” he whispered into my hair, his breath warm against my skin. “They both will.”

“Hunter...” I looked up, seeing my fear reflected in his eyes, which had become my anchor. “What if—”

His kiss silenced me, brief but fierce. “No, what-ifs. We’re ending this. Tonight.”

Our phones lit simultaneously, casting ghostly light across our faces:

The evidence isn’t in the resort. Check the place where it all began. Where two mothers made a choice that changed everything.

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